A couple things have occurred today that have gotten me
thinking about stewardship. I’m reading Ken Shigamatsu’s book God
in My Everything, and he has a good chapter on finances. He talks about
“proportionate giving,” meaning “we first determine the amount we need
(adjusted regularly for inflation) and choose to live on that alone. We then
commit to giving the rest away.”
While I haven’t gone that far, I have made an effort to
increase my giving each year, even when I don’t receive any increase in salary.
I will say up front that money does not hold a great attraction for me, and
being single allows me the freedom to live as simply as I choose. It is nice to
see my bank and pension balances increasing, but I don’t spend a lot of time
obsessing about it. Since I have to spend most of my work hours looking at
finances, by the time I get home I don’t want to be bothered with balancing my
checkbook or paying bills. (I just entered about 8 months of receipts into the
computer, and I wouldn’t do it at all if I didn’t have to file taxes at year
end.)
Over the past several years I’ve noticed certain trends in
my decisions about charitable giving, and my choices are probably not unique.
- I give to fewer organizations than I used to. I’m giving more of my funds to those that impact me directly and eliminating others that I’ve had only distant ties to. Although I appreciate the work of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, it isn’t that important to me.
- I have also moved toward organizations that are overtly Christian. Anybody can support humanitarian organizations, but only Christians are likely to support churches and Christian non-profit agencies.
- I give more to organizations that have fewer donors. My alma maters are great, but they have a pool of thousands of donors. My church only has about a hundred, so comparatively its need is greater.
- I direct more funds toward organizations with a proven track record of good stewardship of their own resources, including their finances, properties, and personnel. Financial management is great, but if that comes at the expense of deteriorating buildings or staff that is either overworked or underworked, they may need to adjust their priorities.
It’s kind of surprising to me as I think about this to
realize that many of these choices were made subconsciously. I never sat down
and wrote out a budget of who deserved what amount from me. I will say that it
helps to have an unlisted phone number and caller ID, so I never have to listen
to those passionate calls to make an immediate contribution that I would never
otherwise make. I rarely give to any special appeals outside of my church.
Financial stewardship is something we should all give more
thought to, with at least a periodic review of where our money is going and how
that reflects our priorities and our faith. I made the decision some time back
that cable TV was not worth the investment of my money and time, so I
downgraded to just the broadcast channels. (Ironically, the cable company has
never removed the extra channels, so I’ve had several months of free cable.) I’ve
also cut out some other conveniences and unnecessary clutter. It’s getting to
be fun asking, “What else can I get rid of or give away that I don’t need?”
Since “God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7) I might as well enjoy
it!
I don’t look at giving as depriving myself of something
good, but as making room in my heart for something better—building my own
relationship with God and helping others to do the same.
